Benefits affected by the new law include childcare benefits, rebates, and Family Tax Benefit A end-of-year supplements. These could total $15,000 Australian dollars per year.

Those who feel that they have been wrongfully denied their benefits will have at least two weeks to prove that their children have been vaccinated.

This bill is the latest move in a worldwide effort to vaccinate all eligible children despite objections from parents. Outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough have occurred in recent years.

There is going to be a group of people that will not change their minds at all, that has always been the case. But people that are coming to that part of their life where they’re going to have to address vaccinating their children, it’s going to encourage them to realize that it’s an important thing to do. Some people will do it because there is a financial incentive involved.

When I first heard about it, I was quite amazed at how stringent the government was [in] taking action on it. But they’re also going to be incorporating education and awareness campaigns, and they’re looking at incorporating a reminder system. I can only see it as a good thing.

Critics of the new law have pointed out that this move will disproportionately affect lower-income families and those without access to healthcare, and not do much to combat the problem of those who refuse on philosophical reasons.

While the bill passed through the Senate without much opposition, some legislators have suggested minor changes to the policy.